TB spares no one – a priceless nugget of history

My friend Mr Raja Chandra, who is married to Princess Indrakshi, the daughter of Late His Highness Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar of the erstwhile Royal State of Mysore in Southern India has sent in this priceless nugget of history. I urge readers to also pay some attention to the text I have italicised, which tells us that we have been grappling with the same issues for decades without making much headway. I have posted it unedited. Thank you Raja for giving us permission to use this in our blog. Journalists against TB is grateful for this.Bharathi Ghanashyam

Speech by His Highness, the Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV at the opening of the Princess Krishnajammanni Sanatorium on 18-11-1921.

Ladies and Gentlemen, It, is a matter of sincere gratification to my mother and myself, as it is, I am sure, to Colonel Desa…raj Urs and my nephew, that this Ins…titution, which we owe in a, large measure to their generosity, is to be opened to-day, Our cordial acknowledgments are due to them for so beneficent a gift.

Of all diseases with which the health authorities are called upon to deal, none is perhaps more difficult and unsatisfactory than tuberculosis. The exceptionally heavy toll taken by this insidious disease among the adult and working members of the community makes the problem before us one of gravity and urgency, requiring organized and sustained effort on the part of both the people and the authorities -health and civic- in preventing its spread and minimizing its ravages.

TB spares no one - Three daughters of Princess Krishnajammanni and Col. Des Raj Urs who were victims of Tuberculosis along with their mother. Rajakumari Tripurasundari Cheluvajammanni ( 14 years- died in 1910) Rajakumari Kempananjammanni (16 years - died in 1913) Rajakumari Devajammanni ( 15 Years - died in 1913)

The value of educational measures in combating phthisis cannot be exaggerated. No measures, however useful and beneficent in their scope, can be of any avail so long as those for whom they are mainly intended remain apathetic and indifferent; and if any headway is to be made against the disease, it is necessary that every endeavor should be used in the direction of the diffusion of knowledge regarding health matters generally tuberculosis in particular, not only in schools colleges, but amongst the ignorant, so that they realize how infectious the disease is, and how necessary it is to effect an improvement in domestic hygiene. The one great need is knowledge and the more people to appreciate the value of light and air, the greater will be the chance of success.

It is, I believe, generally recognized by the medical profession that properly equipped sanatoria go a long way towards staying the ravages of tuberculosis. Advanced cases may not be susceptible to treatment, it is possible to prevent the alarming spread of the disease by separation of the affected persons from those who are still un-attacked and it is here that the chief value of the Sanatorium lies. It is an institution which aims at serving the interests both of the individual and of the community. I trust that it may be possible to start before long one or two tuberculosis dispensaries in the city. They will ensure timely aid and treatment and will form valuable auxiliaries to the Sanatorium, and will also prove most useful from an educational standpoint.

Ladies and Gentlemen, many of you present here are aware of the bitter experience that we have ourselves gone through. Not only my beloved sister, in whose memory the institution has been founded, but her three daughters fell victims to the dire disease. You can therefore, understand with how full a heart my mother and I pray that this hospital may afford relief to the poor and afflicted, and that divine providence may help us to realize the hopes with which we are starting it to-day.

I have much pleasure now in declaring Princess Krishnajammanni Sanatorium open.